Carfax report question - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

01M5 · 7th April 2002, 05:19

I purchased my car new and just ran it through Carfax and it stated that the car was exported from Costa Rica. Has anyone ever run into this before?

DATE
REPORTED ODOMETER
READING INFORMATION
SOURCE GENERAL
COMMENTS
10/25/2000 US Customs
Exported from:
Costa Rica
Imported to:
Charleston, SC

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/11/2000 Georgia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Columbus, GA
Registered as private vehicle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tfung · 7th April 2002, 22:12

wow... weird!

JFB · 8th April 2002, 18:05

Looks like either:

The owner had the car delivered to Costa Rica, relocated to Columbus GA and brought the car along, or
An individual in Columbus GA bought the car from an owner in Costa Rica and imported it.

I suspect the former is more likely. I don't know what differences may exist between models produced for Costa Rica and those produced for the US market.

My first question would be whether the car was manufactured to US specifications? If not what modifications were necessary to clear US customs? I doubt there is anything that should concern you, however.

CEC · 8th April 2002, 18:42

I would e-mail BMW NA and ask them what is up.

Just GSin' · 8th April 2002, 19:29

My CarFax says my car was exported from China, imported to NJ. I suspect that the export info may be a function of the company doing the shipping, not necessarily where the car actually departed on its journey to the States. What do other CarFax reports have as exporting countries?

JFB · 8th April 2002, 21:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Just GSin'
My CarFax says my car was exported from China, imported to NJ. I suspect that the export info may be a function of the company doing the shipping, not necessarily where the car actually departed on its journey to the States. What do other CarFax reports have as exporting countries?

The shipper's business location would not be relevant to the title record. The exporter would not necessarily be on the title. The customs record should show the point of origin.

I didn't know that BMW was building cars in China.

I ordered my M5 through a US dealership. It was shipped via Wallenius Wihelmsen lines, which is based in Oslo, Norway. I took delivery in Illinois on 8/31/01 and registered the car in Texas on 9/7/01. The title report says simply:

Quote:

08/31/2001
Texas Motor Vehicle Dept.
Flower Mound, TX
Registered as private vehicle

There is no mention of the place of export, or the shipper or exporter.

My 528i was purchased through the BMW CPO program, and was formerly a BMWNA executive's company car. The title report on that one says:

Quote:

05/07/1997
US Customs
Exported from: Germany
Imported to: Newark, NJ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06/03/1997
10 miles
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Dept.
Montvale, NJ
Title issued
First owner reported

01M5 · 8th April 2002, 21:21

JFB,

I am the original owner and I purchased it new in Atlanta, GA from an authorized BMW dealer. The only reason I ran the Carfax is that I had the unlimited subscription and did it for the heck of it.

JFB · 8th April 2002, 21:28

Quote:

Originally posted by 01M5
I am the original owner and I purchased it new in Atlanta, GA from an authorized BMW dealer. The only reason I ran the Carfax is that I had the unlimited subscription and did it for the heck of it.

Maybe when you had it registered there in GA the clerk recorded the country of registry of the ship that carried it? I'd have the record corrected, because it potentially could put off a future buyer. Do you still have the tan-colored certificate of origination?

Just GSin' · 8th April 2002, 21:30

I still find it hard to believe that the country of export is the actual country from where the car was shipped. My car arrived in NJ, then to Illinois with 2 miles on the odometer. It doesn't make sense that BMW would ship a US spec car to the US thru China, that is why I think that the country of export reflected in the CarFax report may be the country of registration for the carrier (?)

Or maybe CarFax is confused

tfung · 8th April 2002, 21:32

hmm.. maybe the ship stopped by costa rica on route to the US? that might confuse carfax?

JFB · 8th April 2002, 22:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Just GSin'
I still find it hard to believe that the country of export is the actual country from where the car was shipped. My car arrived in NJ, then to Illinois with 2 miles on the odometer. It doesn't make sense that BMW would ship a US spec car to the US thru China, that is why I think that the country of export reflected in the CarFax report may be the country of registration for the carrier (?)
Or maybe CarFax is confused

CarFax just picks up the record as entered by the tax clerk who registered your vehicle in IL or GA. The title entry appears to depend on the practices of the local officials who enter the title into their computer records.

As noted above, mine was also shipped to Illinois. I took all the paperwork to the county tax office in TX and registered it myself. My title report says nothing at all about the country of origin, country of the shipper, country of the exporter, etc. I had the same experience when I imported a 320i from European Delivery.

Because those clerks are not among the highest-paid of civil servants, I would not expect them to understand the nuances of vehicle importation. I'll bet not too many private owners show up with certificates of origin.

The title report should show the place of manufacture/origin and the first owner post-importation.

The shipping company and exporter are not in the chain of title. They are no more relevant to title than is the rail or trucking company that carried the car from the port of entry to your dealer.

Rezf · 8th April 2002, 22:10

I have seen this with Carfax as well in the past. My 2000 540i was ordered by me and built for me. The car arrived to the dealership with 1.6 miles on it. I ran a Carfax report (for the same reason as you- unlimited subscription) and it said exported from Ecuador. My '01 M5 said it was exported from China. I haven't checked my '02 M5 since my subscription ran out. I am not sure why Carfax reports these like this. I suspect it has to do with the last stop the ship made prior to its arrival to a US port. Or the origin of the ship carrier might be Ecuador, China, etc. I wouldn't worry about it.

Just GSin' · 8th April 2002, 22:29

Quote:

The shipping company and exporter are not in the chain of title. They are no more relevant to title than is the rail or trucking company that carried the car from the port of entry to your dealer.

Never intended to imply that the shipping company had anything to do with the record of title, for that matter, neither does CarFax.

I'm not terribly worried about it. CarFax is only as accurate as the data input into it. Who knows if China is even in the chain of delivery for my vehicle. US Customs agents/employees may be looking at the country of origin of the shipping company, not necessarily the route actually taken in shipping the car from Germany to the US. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it